MP queries job creation claims of £10bn data centre campus proposal at former Britishvolt site in Northumberland

It was announced this week that the Britishvolt site in Cambois, formerly the Blyth Power Station site, was likely to be purchased by American asset management firm Blackstone, pending approval by Northumberland County Council’s cabinet.

Blackstone wants to invest £10bn to build the largest data centre campus in Europe at the site.

On Monday, council leader Glen Sanderson said the proposal “offers a huge boost to the regeneration and renaissance of the local area” and would deliver “over 1,600 direct jobs, including 1,200 long-term construction jobs, and over 2,700 indirect jobs.”

Wansbeck MP Ian Lavery, however, said he was concerned that similar schemes in the US sometimes offered as little as 25 or 30 permanent roles.

He said: “The American experience certainly seems to be that data centres owned and operated by global technology giants built in low-cost, non-urban areas create few long term jobs but offer an upfront financial benefit for local authorities.

“Whilst all authorities need to consider how best to obtain much needed finance, in south east Northumberland we are desperate for employment and this is a key site.”

The council’s cabinet will vote this Tuesday on whether to withdraw the local authority’s option to buy back the site for £4m in exchange for a £110m payment. The deal hinges on the council’s agreement to these terms.

Once the site is acquired, the data centre would be delivered by Blackstone-owned cloud and AI data centre company QTS. The centre would be leased to a tenant once complete, likely a tech giant such as Microsoft or Google.

This signals the end of plans to build an electric car battery factory on the site after Britishvolt entered administration last year and the failure of Australian firm Recharge to complete a takeover of the start-up.

Mr Lavery said: “The original proposal announced two years ago for a battery gigafactory tackled the lack of plants in the UK and would have delivered thousands of new jobs.

“The nearby port, plentiful space, and green energy has been described as making the site in Cambois one of the best in Western Europe for job creation in advanced manufacturing.

“Whilst I would welcome the investment I am concerned about the reports from the US and would welcome clarification as to how many long-term roles will be created by the development currently on the table.

“My concern is that the fantastic potential for the Cambois site that could transform the lives of thousands of my constituents will not be fully realised. I hope my concerns can be put to bed.”

Figures announced by the council are in line with Blackstone’s estimate for job creation at a data campus of this scale.

The scheme proposed in Northumberland would feature a series of buildings housing data centre computers across the 235-acre site.

Direct job creation figures suggested by the council are estimations based on the number of technicians, engineers, and technologists employed by QTS and any future tenant of the data centre campus, as well as construction jobs.

Forecasted indirect jobs would include roles like security, maintenance, specialist contractors, and work on supporting infrastructure for the site.

A county council spokesperson said: “The job numbers we have shared are estimates provided to us from the proposed investors themselves and are based on similar schemes that have been developed elsewhere in the world.

"The figures recognise the significant scale of the proposed development in Cambois. As a result of the scale, the construction and the jobs related to this will be over a number of years, benefiting residents over this time.”